Sony announces FE 135mm F1.8 G Master lens

Sony has announced its FE 135mm F1.8 G Master telephoto prime lens. Sony says that this (relatively) lightweight and portable lens is well-suited for portrait, wedding and sports photographers.

The 135mm F1.8 has 13 elements in total, which include XA (extreme aspherical), Super ED and ED. The XA and Super ED elements in the front group 'effectively suppress all common telephoto lens aberrations,' according to Sony. The Super ED and ED glass used in the front element groups replace traditional large and heavy negative elements commonly used to suppress longitudinal spherical aberration. Sony claims this combination of a Super ED and ED element 'compensate for axial CA, minimize color fringing and maximize overall resolution,' while the large XA element mitigates spherical aberration.

Producing large XA elements that don't negatively affect bokeh is difficult, but Sony claims its 10 nanometer mold precision and other improvements ensure that onion ring bokeh is non-existent. Furthermore, each XA element is individually inspected to ensure smooth bokeh. An 11-blade aperture ensures circular out-of-focus highlights even at F4 and beyond. Sony's Nano AR coating is used to reduce flare and ghosting, while a fluorine element repels fingerprints and water.

There are four XD ('extreme dynamic') linear motors in the lens - two for each of the focus groups - that promise responsive, accurate and quiet focusing. Sony states this is its first lens to offer two direct-drive SSM linear induction motors to move two separate focus groups - one in the front and one in the rear - for fast focus. These new linear induction motors replace previous piezoelectric-based designs and are capable of moving larger, heavier elements.

The 135mm F1.8 is weather-sealed and features an aperture ring, focus ring with linear response (important for videographers), two customizable focus hold buttons and a focus range limiter with three settings. The latter allows you to fine tune the lens for your shooting situation and is particularly important given the lens' close focus distance. If you are shooting distant subjects, limiting focus allows for nearly instantaneous focus without the risk of hunting to extremely nearby distances.

The FE 135mm F1.8 GM will ship in late April for $1900. Click on any of the images below to launch our sample gallery from our brief time with the lens at a local shooting event.

Equipped with Sony’s most advanced optical technologies, the new lens is built to meet the extremely high standards of Sony’s G Master series. The new FE 135mm F1.8 GM offers exceptionally high resolution and exquisite bokeh, two qualities that are signature attributes of Sony’s flagship G Master brand. The new lens combines rapid autofocus (AF) acquisition with a lightweight, portable design and a variety of professional functions, making it a versatile, high-performance tool for professional portrait photographers, wedding photographers, sports photographers and a wide variety of imaging enthusiasts.

“Sony’s commitment to growing our lens lineup remains stronger than ever,” said Neal Manowitz, vice president of imaging solutions at Sony Electronics. “Our 31st native full-frame FE lens and 49th overall E-mount lens, the highly anticipated 135mm prime brings the acclaimed G Master quality to another popular focal length for both professionals and enthusiasts to enjoy. We will continue to drive market-leading innovation in all aspects of our imaging business, giving our customers the opportunity to capture and create like they never have before.”

The new telephoto prime lens utilizes its XA element, refined with Sony’s latest bokeh simulation technologies during the design and manufacturing stages, to control spherical aberration and achieve exquisite bokeh. In addition, an 11-bladed circular aperture mechanism contributes towards achieving extremely natural and beautiful background defocus. The exciting new model also features dual-autofocus groups in a floating focus arrangement for improved close-up capability, allowing a minimum focus distance of just 0.7 meters and a maximum magnification of 0.25x.

To ensure that this lens can keep up with fast-moving portrait or sports subjects, the FE 135mm F1.8 GM has been equipped with a total of four of Sony’s proprietary XD linear motors—two for each group—that achieve rapid, reliable and speedy AF tracking and performance. There is also a control algorithm that helps to maximize control response and ensure quiet, low-vibration AF. All of this exceptional performance is packaged in a compact, lightweight body weighing in at 33.6 oz.

The FE 135mm F1.8 GM includes a number of professional controls that enhance ease of operation for both stills and movie shooting. These include an aperture ring that allows direct, intuitive aperture control and a focus ring that features Linear Response MF for fine, responsive manual focus control. There is also a focus range limiter switch, two customizable focus hold buttons, and a focus-mode switch that makes it possible to quickly select auto or manual focus to match changing shooting conditions.

New Circular Polarizing Filters

In addition to the new FE 135mm F1.8 GM Lens, Sony has also announced a new lineup of Circular Polarizing Filters. The new filters, including models for lens diameters 49mm, 55mm, 62mm, 67mm, 72mm, 77mm and 82mm, preserve image quality and resolution about twice[i] as effectively as Sony’s existing circular PL filter lineup, making them a perfect partner for Sony’s flagship G Master series lens. They also feature a ZEISS® T* Coating to minimize flare and a slim filter design to prevent image vignetting and maximize overall performance.

Pricing and Availability

The FE 135mm F1.8 GM will ship in late April 2019 for approximately $1,900 US and $2,600 CA. The lens will be sold at a variety of Sony authorized dealers throughout North America.

The new circular polarizer filters will ship in May 2019, with approximate pricing outlined below:

49mm (model VF49CPAM2) - $100 US / $130 CA

55mm (model VF55CPAM2) - $110 US / $150 CA

62mm (model VF62CPAM2) - $140 US / $190 CA

67mm (model VF67CPAM2) - $155 US / $200 CA

72mm (model VF72CPAM2) - $165 US / $220 CA

77mm (model VF77CPAM2) - $180 US / $240 CA

82mm (model VF82CPAM2) - $230 US / $300 CA

A variety of exclusive stories and exciting new content shot with the new lens and Sony ‘s Alpha products can be found atwww.alphauniverse.com, a site created to educate and inspire all fans and customers of Sony’s Alpha brand.

I wonder how long it will be before this lens drops down closer to $1,500. I imagine it will be awhile, but I would be more likely to snap one up at that price. I’m sure Sigma sales would likely suffer as a result.

I have SAL135F1.8Z on A mount, this looks better on IQ although front is bigger to 82mm instead of 77mm.The most shining part is AF, real time and speed with accuracy, which the old one was way behind disregarding how great A99M2 hybrid AF is.Interesting lens!The sample presented its capability well with action shots! lol

One of the fun things about mirrorless - mixing it with old and cheap film lenses. They flare like a b*stard, have low optical purity and no contrast but you can get them sharper focussed than you ever got on your SLR!

@T3 True that. I am thinking hard about ditching it for the Z6 (I am videographer and IBIS + Raw Video output with a small 5inch external HDR monitor to reliable SSDs make it a competent video camera). But those bastar* RF lenses just released made me wait it out. All of them are of interest to me, if they're as good optically as the current RFs it will be the world's best ILC lens line-up. The 15-35mm f/2.8 IS + 70-200/2.8 IS look SWEET! So does that 85mm f/1.2 DS. Oh and the 24-240mm + RP is a sweet travel/family kit.

I Kind of have this focal length with my Pen F. I have the 75mm. 1.8 which is closer to a 150mm FF and I love it for portraits. Only problem I have found is when shooting full length at the beach the client has a hard time hearing my directions. But the compression and shallow depth of field is awesome. Mostly I use it for headshots though.

Arbux the 75mm gives you great shallow depth of field as much as a faster but shorter lens. Plus as noted I pick my backgrounds wisely one reason for shooting on an ocean beach and not a busy distracting location. I do that with my 4x5 as well.

if that is what takes for making it a fast focusing lens, I will take it. I will use the lens for dim light sports so AF performance is critical and this has always been a let down from any brand so far for the 135mm because always aimed to portrait photography.

@arbuxyes kudos for Sony to make a high performance version of it. I can see this lens coupled with my A9 outperforming anyone else when shooting basketball, dance recitals, figure skating, etc. Other brands 135mm are basically unusable for sports. The closest thing Canon and Nikon have is the 200/2.0 which is a monster size and price wise.

@rbach44As I mentioned in another post Nikon and Canon 135mm are inadequate for sport/action photography. I had the Canon, used on my 1DX. This lens can make a huge difference in some segments, such as dance performances, gymnastics, figure skating, basketball, etc. With 1-1/3 stop advantage over the 70-200/2.8, or even more if the T-stop is actually 1.8 I will buy immediately. I sold my Canon version over one year ago, being waiting since.This lens significance is actually quite remarkable for action photographers. One of the lenses that got me most excited in a while, a bit of a mini 200/2.0. But a lot cheaper and smaller.

@armandino I’m not trying to flame, but you honestly didn’t think the Canon 135L had very fast AF? I have that lens and it is one of the faster focusing lenses on a Canon body. How much faster does the focusing have to be for indoor basketball?

P.S. this is coming from a guy with a Canon 5D3 and a lot of L glass as well as an A9 with some GM glass. Not trying to troll.

@Jason Switzerthe Canon lens does not compare in AF to dedicated sport lenses, such as the 70-200. If you are shooting wide open you have to have a very responsive af because of the unforgiving depth of field. I definitely nailed some shots with it, I even did mounted on an A7RII, however it is not a lens you can relay if you simply cannot miss the shot, it is a lens I would use if I have my keepers and I have time to shoot creatively.

@NOTicket - maybe that's where individual approach is necessary - to decenter it for great bokeh. So far decentering in Sony result only in lack of sharpness. They cannot get rid of it, so turned it into (marketing) advantage.

MaredI own(ed) every single GM zoom and a few primes.- The 100-400 was good first try.- The 70-200 is rather poorly performing compared to the CaNikon versions even if you get the best possible copy. Second copy was acceptable.- The 24-70 suffers from poor field curvature, essentially rendering it useless for landscape since even f11 doesn't fix it. After all four samples from four different vendors had the same issue at completely different frame areas I have given up for now. While not as good as the Canon variant I will give it a try again in a few months, Maybe they fixed their QC.- The 16-35 took three attempts to get one that is usable up to 26mm. The sample variation at 35mm is absoluteky ridiculous. The worst I have ever heard of. There was a review which compared 11 distinct copies and they were all over the place.

As a Sony shooter, I'm really pleased to see that Sony is filling in the niches like a super expensive 135mm f/1.8 prime with hand inspected artisanal bokeh before getting to more mainstream, long asked for lenses like a 35mm f/1.8 or f/2.

there are already plenty of 35mm lenses for the E-mount :)and this 135 1.8 was long asked for too. there is a 135 1.8 for the A-mount that is of legendary quality and people have asked for an e-mount version of that since the very first A7 was released.

I expect this to be worse optically (read as: sharpness) than the Sigma but then again, it's not as big and so long as it's still excellent rather than record-breaking, that's still a good tradeoff for a lighter instrument. Curious to see how it'll do.

I wouldn't. I would expect an OEM lens to be better than a third party lens - which is what I said.

Of course the Sigma lens is better than the Canon 135/2 - it was launched 21 years after it. The Canon lens wasn't even formulated for digital systems. To make your comparison is any way equivalent, you need to compare the Canon lens with a Sigma lens from circa 1996 or the Sigma lens with a Canon lens from circa 2017. Unfortunately in both cases you can't because such a lens don't exist.

I still have one last lens to buy before my switch from Canon to Sony is complete.A lens mainly for getting candid shots of wedding guests. The 70-200 or this 135?1.8 would be very handy in dimly lit evening receptions - with primes you just use your feet more. Thoughts?

arbux - If you started w/ the RF 28-70MM, you'd be stuck with a camera manufacturer that is extremely pessimistic about the future of cameras and not investing in the business. Instead, it is investing in Office Automation and Other businesses. This means Canon Sensors, Processors and other Key technologies will continue to fall further and further behind the competition and an ever increasing rates. Canon will only have its lenses to "fall back" on. Thus, Canon will continue to look more pathetic at ever increasing rates as its cameras become more and more outdated with each successive generation...

IamJF - I often use 200mm for large receptions. Candid for me means keeping a distance where I am not spotted. Easier with a long lens. Perhaps 135mm will be enough. When receptions are sufficiently dark, I stop using my 70-200 because it will require flash. 1.8 will give me a bit more flexibility in that regard.

@Mared aha, pessimistic and won't release new great products, like a 15-35mm f/2.8, a 24-70mm f/2.8, a tiny 70-200 f/2.8, two 85mm f/1.2 with DS, 24-240mm, an Otus league 50mm f/1.2, the best 24-105/4, a freaking 28-70mm f/2, and the world lightest & cheapest FF camera, all in the first freaking year!

the 135mm length is REALLY tight indoors- I have the 135m CZ SAL and I only use it outdoors. If most of your shots are indoors, the 70-200 is a better fit I think. I love the low light ability of the 1.8 but I rarely get to use it because of the focal length.

Henrikw - 135mm should be far enough to not disturb people? I just test a 35/1.4 vs. 35/2.8 - even with this modern sensors, there is a big difference in ISO and picture quality in low light. But I'm a 135mm and prime friend 😉. If you use at least 2 bodies I would go for the 135mm - otherwise the zoom.

Nice technology. Good to see Sony innovating in lenses. But it is hard to get by the price. $2700 Can. Wow. When I bought my first camera, the first lens that i bought was a Lentar preset 135 f2.8. No good until stopped down 2 stops to f5.6. Have we ever come a long way. But I still can't get past the price.

I wish Sony would let their customers know the general timeline regarding what their engineers are working on and when it will be released. Although I am sure this is a gem, I would think that Sony customers would probably be more interested in the A6500 successor or an 85mm OSS emount lens.

@ThorgremWelcome to Schrodinger's camera. Sony may be abandoning APS-C or they may be developing that 16-50/2.8 people have been clamoring for for years. They say they're shifting their priority back to APS-C while continuing to enhance the FF lineup. Rumors and faith lend credence to various options, but all possibilities exist. Seriously, "70% confirmed" is supposed to mean that the rumor was confirmed by a source that the rumor monger considers to be somewhat reliable. Personally, my experience with SAR has been that they're pretty reliable when they show leaked images or specs the day before an announcement, but otherwise, it's a lot of wishful thinking, so I'm with you - anything less than 100% confirmed is 0% confirmed.

The GM line is smaller than the lenses launched in the Sigma Art, Pentax DA* and Canon L lines launched recently.Yes they are still large by old standards, but at least they try to hold back a little bit on size. While Sigma tries to go all out with no regards to size whatsoever

Is the difference between 135mm f2 and f/1.8 really something that even mildly affects our photography? I don't think so. An f/1.8 vs f/2.8 maybe, but not an f/0.2 difference that we don't know what the T value for is.

Steve Huff about the new Sony lens: "This lens focuses fast, doesn’t vignette, has gorgeous bokeh, is sharp as you would ever need even wide open at f/1.8, devours juicy color and snappy contrast right out of camera"

-"ImagingResource" The 135mm f2 L is probably one of the sharpest and most well corrected lenses Canon makes"-"Kai Wong" The 135mm is one of the sharpest L lenses and deserves the title of the Lord of The Red Rings" -"Thebrotographer" Best quality is the insane sharpness this lens has"

You can just google this stuff. It's a better lens for most people than this 1900$ bohemous.

I am sure the GM is optically better for the most picky photographers, it's more than double as much and 13 years newer!

"Is the difference between 135mm f2 and f/1.8 really something that even mildly affects our photography? I don't think so. An f/1.8 vs f/2.8 maybe, but not an f/0.2 difference that we don't know what the T value for is."

We'll see if you keep that same logic when comparing 1.4 vs 1.2 primes.

F/1.4 to f/1.2 is a bigger difference. But actually I wouldn't care if my RF 50L was f/1.4. the difference is negligble, that's why all the other manufacturers chose to go for 50/85 f/1.4, including Sony, Nikon and Sigma.

EbrahimGreat. Reviews averaging 10 years old or worse of a over two decade years old lens.Coming from jokesters like Kai W. or using unscientific testing that doesn't compare it to the alternatives on top of that fact...

Most lenses are great if you refuse to compare. The amount of mental gymnastics you went through to call this "widely regarded as one of the sharpest lenses". Clueless fan ;)

@ MirrorLessHater: Luckily Sony also has excellent sensors that take care of the latent image that is projected from great optics. And very good autofocus to keep fast moving subjects razor sharp, else much of the lens qualities would be a waste. :-)

Well at least it is somewhat lighter and shorter than the Sigma 135mm F1.8 for E-mount at 950g vs 1225g.That said this is more in line with the gains of the GM 85mm F1.4 over the Art version than with the GM 24mm F1.4 over the Art version. Which is expected

@panther fan the economies of scale doesn't apply to a struggling industry really. It just doesn't work that way. Anyway, if you are happy with the price I am certain you will put your money where your mouth is and soon we will all see some great work coming from you shot with this lens no?

@KaonashiThey do even more than ever. And don't get me wrong cheaper is always nicer. But if you look at the current landscape and where cameras are going it is easy to see why new lenses are so expensive. And compared to other recent launches the price doesn't seem too bad

If a product aimed at a large market is selling poorly, then you can attract more customers by lowering the price. But if we're talking about a limited niche market, then you aren't producing in high volume, and need a higher profit margin per unit sold. Also, R&D costs are spread out across a smaller volume which also contributes to a higher price. A smaller production volume will never make the product cheaper.

@arbuxIf you want to talk about 135mm lenses there is other comparison currently to be made since no other camera company has released a new high performance 135mm lens recently.

My comment was about first party lens prices in general and here we have some comparison to be made. Like new 70-200s, new 85mm F1.4s, new 24mm F1.4s, new 24-70 F2.8s etc... And in all those Sony is pretty competitive with the price. If we extrapolate from that, this lens doesn't seem that expensive and I am pretty sure the new RF and Z 135mm lenses will be similarly priced. After all this lens is just 500$ more expensive than the Sigma version and that with many technology and usability improvements by a first party manufacturer.

@Kaonashi - honestly, a 135mm plus a 35, 40, or 50 (one of these, depending on preference) is a great combo for shooting weddings and events as a pro. Especially in combination with Sony's Eye AF and especially with the new FW coming to the A9. Personally, I have the Batis 135 and find it spectacular with zero plans to add 300g in order to gain 1.3 stops. Not all pros don't need a 70-200. Especially when the AF system is as good as it is with the A9 (and getting better).

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